“Two weeks?” June sputtered. The paper fell from her hand and landed across the envelope, its folds waving gently in the faint morning breeze. “Two weeks to pack, move across the country to New Hampshire, find a place to live, and prep to teach how many classes?”
“Congratulations on the job offer.” Maria beamed serenely from across the kitchen, a perfect match for the Arizona sunlight shining through the open window. “You’ll be just fine. It’s no more work than getting a PhD, I’m sure. I’ve faith in your ability.”
“Besides, you’ve been planning to be a professor this since you were — what, eight?” John looked up from across the table, bread knife in hand. Homemade wheat straight from the oven wafted a plume of steam between them, as it had every day since she’d come to live with them…no matter how many times his wife playfully chased him away from the fresh loaf.
June studied the letter as if the plain language held information in a secret cipher. “It’s a ridiculously short turnaround.”
“Ah, but failure is unacceptable.” John shoved a plate with a piece of warm bread across the scarred wooden table and gestured toward the butter. “I remember your father always saying that.”
“I don’t remember applying for Paladin University,” she said slowly. “My parents met there. I might’ve applied downright everywhere, but so far away and with that memory — I’d have remembered that application. Wouldn’t I?”
Maria looked up from the eggs she was whisking in a red-and-blue patterned stoneware bowl. “Perhaps they take care of their own. What’s that fancy term for it? Legacies? There’s a lot of that in the more formal magic societies, no?”
“You don’t see many job offers sent by snail mail these days, either,” John said gruffly. “Better give ’em a call and make sure it’s legit.” He shoved his chair back and planted his hat on his long braid with one easy hand. “But if it’s magic, it’s the good kind. About time it landed well on someone who deserves it.”
June carefully didn’t notice the telltale gleam in his eyes, but the approving pat on her shoulder as he headed to check on the cattle told her everything she needed to know.
***
A morph on this week’s More Odds Than Ends prompt from Leigh Kimmel: The expected turnover time was ridiculously short — but failure was unacceptable.
My prompt went to Parrish Baker: “I’ve been watching the rearview mirror, and they’re definitely following us.”
PS: Wondering what happened last week? Technical difficulties! It’s posted as a comment here.
